A/N: all lyrics this chapter written by me.
In the following weeks it became apparent that Judge Turpin was, indeed, intent upon courting Mrs. Lovett.
Mrs. Lovett was horrified by the idea, of course. She's seen what happened to the women who rejected him...
But anytime she went out, she ran the risk of running into him. She couldn't play dumb forever. Even if she acted like she didn't recognize his flirting for what it was, Turpin was sure to eventually come out and state his intentions in a way she couldn't ignore or even pretend to misunderstand. So she simply avoided going out altogether. If she needed anything from the market, she sent Toby to get it for her.
The only chance the judge would have to see her would be to come by during business hours...
Sweeney watched from the balcony as Judge Turpin approached the pie shop. Beadle Bamford was not with him, which was unusual.
Of course he wouldn't want the Beadle with him if he was there for... personal reasons, Sweeney reasoned. And he began to sing under his breath.
"So, the judge has decided to come 'round for a pie,
In the hope that he might catch Mrs. Lovett's eye,
But the blighter's in for a real surprise,
Soon he'll be the one that's filling the pies."
Hopefully Mrs. Lovett would would not be too disguted by the judge's advances to do what Sweeney wanted. All she had to do was flirt with the man a little, then suggest that he might want a shave...